Christmas is Upon Us

Well, Christmas is almost upon us and the weather prophets say it will be 70 degrees for our annual walk on the beach.

GreenPeace with Kathy and Lee

It was a great weekend in Black Mountain and Asheville with Kathy and Lee and their dogs at GreenPeace. We've known each other since 1974 and it's still a lot of fun to be together. We tracked down Rick and Joy Icenhower who they knew at State. Rick and Joy got married in school and went back to Rick's family farm in Leiscester and had a thriving greenhouse business until just recently. We were impressed by the pristine state of their home -- built by Rick's grandfather -- their big farm and cows and pastures and fish ponds -- they have to work hard to maintain all that. Their nursury business is greatly downsized now, due to drought, major storm damage to the greenhouses accompanied by the dramatic rise in the price of oil to heat the houses. But they are being resourceful and are selling water collection devices and active in addressing the regional crisis in water supply. You've got to admire them and wish them the best. It's never has been easy to be a farmer and it's not now.

We also had Kathy's nephew Luke over for dinner a couple of times. Kathy is an excellent, creative cook and Luke was a wonderful guy -- a serious bicycler and student at UNC-A. He will be in Charleston after the New Year. I invited him to stay with us and I think he's going to take me up on it . It will be nice to see him again. Here's a picture of Kathy and Luke and a good shot of Lee and Lucy.

Thanksgiving is my favorite

Before we leave Thanksgiving and dive headlong into Christmas, let me just say our Thanksgiving was wonderful this year. We visited lots of family in lots of places, and everyone was pretty much in a good place in their life. Everything was easy and relaxed and we had some wonderful meals, and did not wash dishes but once. We attended the famous Thanksgiving Breakfast at the Pilot, NC Fire Station -- and it was indeed, a great gathering. I enjoyed our somewhat circuitous route through Franklin County Thanksgiving morning. It is pretty and rural through there -- fields and woods going bare with the last remains of fall color -- covered in frost. It reminded me of Grandmother and Granddaddy's and I enjoyed seeing it.
Mom and I went shopping on Friday for my birthday and Christmas presents. For my birthday I got a beautiful, beautiful reversible jacket I can wear all year. She picked out one present for me to give to her for Christmas, as well. In the afternoon, we went to see Australia! -- a grand epic tale. On to Winston Salem -- very easy and relaxed time there. I had not been to W-S in I don't know how long and Duncan had never been to Debbie and Wilson's house. I got to see the rug from Grandmother Bowles' living room now in Debbie's living room after being in Uncle Bill's attic for 30+ years. And she has had grandmother's sewing machine cabinet refinished, too. We got to see Jeffrey and Adam, too. It was great. Now, if we can just manage for Christmas to be as warm and comfortable and nice.

What I'm Thankful For:

That Mom is healthy and doing well. We've come a long way since last year at Thanksgiving when Glenaire had first contacted her about the apartment and I made her cook that all-out holiday dinner and use all the china one last time.

In these uncertain times, for having at least one job between us, health insurance, cars that are paid for and a little money in the bank

For crockpots, ATMs and Pay-at-the Pump gas stations

Gerald's Tire Service

For an incredible view out my window every morning; for the cranes and egrets, but not so much for the racoons

Gas at $1.78/gal

For the constant entertainment, if not the affection, of Eloise

For Duncan's affection which more than makes up for Eloise's lack thereof

Two good women I know beat off breast cancer this year. Yea!

For the loom, the sewing machine, origami paper and my library card

For the fixed heat vent in the bathroom so that now, when we stand at the vanity, heat blows on our feet. Ahhhhh!

For living in a place that doesn't get too cold, too often

For work, when I can get it

Duncan has said over and over that he is thankful he doesn't have to mow the yard anymore

Morning coffee

In the category of "Thankful for small favors" last week a refund check arrived from IRS for our 2006 return in the amount of $1.37

The State of My Things

There was a 2nd interview a couple of weeks ago and I didn't hear anything and didn't hear anything. Last week I interviewed for a development position at a legal aide-type office. The whole thing was like a legal aid office on a TV sitcom-- creepy office, creepy man, sketchy story about potential of continued funding. And I heard that hated line: "This job doesn't have benefits, and of course we are a non-profit so, the salary's not great." OK, no thanks. So I called the Senior Center where I had 2 interviews and they had indeed, offered their job to someone else who, while I was great and had great skills, was just a little more qualified. Whatever that means.

The stock market is tanking. Unemployment is at a 14 year high. Today's paper says retail stores have more applications for part-time holiday positions than they have jobs. You have a greater chance of "getting into Harvard than you do getting a part-time job in a store this Christmas". How did this get to be my life? Well, I don't know, but it is. It is very discouraging. Everyone is telling me to keep my spirits up -- that the right job is out there for me. And you know, I guess that is true. It makes no sense to operate on any other premise. So, keep looking.

The holidays are coming. Get ready for that. I am about to finish the Annual Report for the Silver Crescent Foundation -- for which I will get paid a nice sum because I've been working on it forever. I need to work on the Fiber Guild's website. We have some very good programs planned for 2009 -- including an African-American quilter featured in the last issue of Charleston magazine who does "story quilts". We will go to NC for Thanksgiving, and then I will spend a long weekend in Black Mountain with Kathy and Lee. A small craft show in Dec. at St. Francis. Things to do, people to see. Chin up.

The Day After

I worked the polls yesterday which turned out to be rather grueling duty. At our place, we had 2 precincts and a steady 2-hour line all day. I pretty much kept my head down and focused on what was right in front of me the entire 12 hours. We felt lucky that we did not have people in line when the polls closed at 7 PM so we did not have to stay late. I came home exhausted and followed a little news. I called friends who were at a raucous party hosted by die-hard Democrats in their neighborhood and was on the phone with them when they announced Pennsylvania for Obama -- but I soon went to bed. The clock radio went off this morning about 4:30 (??) and I half-asleep listened to NPR for an hour. It registered in my dreamy brain that Obama had clinched it and I went back to sleep until time to get up. Rather anti-climatic for such a big event but it's OK.

Inauguration day will be a moving because of all of the historical significance and oh yeah, because the war in Iraq will end sooner, and we might start negotiating and working with the UN and we might begin to address global warming and change the deal where the richest 1/2% of the country absorbs any economic progress we manage to make and healthcare might stop eating us alive and the Supreme Court might uphold that the Government should not accompany me when I visit my doctor and you know, stuff like that.

Since nothing happened in South Carolina yesterday that couldn't have been predicted a year ago, I have enjoyed watching what is happening in North Carolina. Beverly Perdue! Kay Hagen -- from Greensboro! At play in the Presidential race and ultimately going for Obama! These are huge changes!

The big disappointment is that Suzanne Reynolds did not win her race for Supreme Court Judge. Apparently she ran a great campaign in what should not have been a competitive race and she came very close to winning, so I'm sure great opportunities are ahead for her. But still. . .

Catch Up

It was nice to have Mom and Joan visit. The first day they were here it rained by the bucket load. When Duncan took them to their hotel he realized the streets were flooding and our ponds were overflowing. Turned out to be double the record rainfall for a day's time here -- but Saturday was nice and the rest of the weekend was great. We visited Mepkin Abbey, the Tea Plantation and went to church at a sweet little Presbyterian church built in 1850 in the very quaint little village of Rockville on the Edisto River. We also ate a lot and tried to coax Eloise into being more friendly and watched great white cranes in the marsh. I hope it was a nice visit for them and that they will come back. I love having guests - and they are very easy guests to have.

What I Want

She just wants to be employed
for eight hours a day. She is not
interested in a career; she wants a job
with a paycheck and free parking. She
does not want to carry a briefcase filled
with important papers to read after
dinner; she does not want to return
phone calls. When she gets home, she
wants to kick off her shoes and waltz
around her kitchen singing, "I am a piece
of work."

Beverly Rollwagen

Tomorrow, an interview. They are few and far between. Blow on the dice, light a candle, say a pray, cross your fingers and toes and surround me in light. If I don't get a job, I'm going to have to make my own Christmas presents just to have something to do and no one wants that!

East Cooper's Crafter's Guild Fall Show

The Craft Show was an interesting experience, if not profitable. Most people walked right by me, obviously there for the jewelry, lighthouses painted on oyster shells and Santa Clauses made from dish towels. A lot of people stopped and looked at all the boxes, sometimes picked one up and looked inside, then looked over at me and said "This is really neat!" And then moved on. But some few people took a look, lit up and said "I have to have one!" Those were the people I liked the best.

I was definitely one of the rookies at this show. Most people came in with very elaborate display set ups with the exact right cart of move it in on. They had professional signage and their own cash registers. I felt a little bit like the kid with a lemonade stand on the sidewalk in front of the house.

I had good conversations with people who gave me ideas about ways to go about it in the future. #1 Don't pay such high entrance fees. Look for shows that cost $10 or less. #2 Configure "floors" for boxes so they serve better as gift boxes. #3 Get business cards made at dot.print.com. #4 Fewer boxes -- the most distinctive ones are the ones that sell. #5 I need bags next time. It was a rainy weekend and I needed to help people protect their purchase from dissolving before they got it home.

I think my bargain basement prices were about right.

Origami Boxes

I have a booth at a craft show in Mt. Pleasant this weekend. All energy has turned to getting ready for that! Will anyone be shopping for crafts with the stock market crashing??? Put that on the worry list.

Our newly painted living room

". . . I had a nice tan color in mind, but May latched on to this sample called Caribbean Pink. She said it made her feel like dancing a Spanish flamenco. I thought, 'Well, this is the tackiest color I've ever seen, and we'll have half the town talking about us, but if it can lift May's heart like that, I guess she ought to live inside it.'"

". . .Some things don't matter that much. Like the color of a house. How big is that in the overall scheme of life? But lifting a person's heart -- now, that matters. The whole problem with people is. . . they know what matters, but they don't choose it. You know how hard that is?. . . I love May, but it was still so hard to choose Caribbean Pink. The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters."

August Boatwright in The Secret Life of Bees

These colors lift my heart.

Before and After -- Ta Da!

And Eloise has her own problems

After not ever noticing many cats in this neighborhood before, suddenly this spring, we started to feel like we had a very popular teenager at our house. Lots of cats were coming by in the evening to chat up Eloise. Some she would talk to and share space with, others she would chase away. There is a fluffy orange cat that lives down the street she doesn't like and a mean black and white one. One cat she seems to tolerate is missing a front paw and walks with a decided limp. Assuming he is a stray and feeling he is at a disadvantage in the natural world, Duncan puts food out on the deck whenever this "tripod" visits. One night, there was a terrible row outside involving several of Eloise's regular visitors that left blood on the deck and little tuffs of fur floating in the air. Eloise was inside, yowling and swatting the glass door with her paw. We all rushed outside and the last thing we saw was Black and White Cat shooting around the corner and Tripod hobbling off down the creekbank.

Several days passed before Tripod appeared again. Duncan put a bowl of food out and Eloise went and sat on the back steps, appearing to stand guard so he could eat in peace. Awww. Too sweet. Cat friends. Buds.

Things sort of settled into a quiet routine with Queen Eloise as the indoor cat and Tripod, the outdoor cat. Not politically correct, but it was working. Then, one day recently Tripod showed up with a new friend. A little black and white female -- different from the black and white thug cat. She has a little swoosh across her face, so Duncan calls her Paintbrush. And apparently she and Tripod are best buds now. He brings her to eat on Eloise's deck. They eat out of the same bowl. Sometimes she licks his head while he eats. Eloise is horrified. She regrets she was ever nice and feels Tripod has taken advantage of her kindness. She cannot believe their flagrant noodling on her deck. She cannot understand why we seem to encourage them.

So her outside territory has been defiled and now workers are inside the house, making noise and doing all kinds of unexpected things so she can't find a good place to nap. She has retreated under the bed -- and resorted to stress eating. What else can she do??

This is a bigger deal than I thought.

I'm glad I didn't get it in my head to do the bathroom myself. I had no idea how involved it would be. This is the progress we've made this week. We're still pretty dusty here.

Cast of Characters

Clockwise from top left: Mom, John D'Emilio, Vicki Thomas, Julie Knight, Duncan, Me and Maura, Morris and Christy

Beware the Monster Mosquitos on Sullivan's Island

Very nice party Saturday night - a most picturesqes setting on the water-- you expected to see Pat Conroy come around the corner with a beer in his hand at any minute. There was lowcountry boil and all the trimmings, but -- the mosquitos 'most carried us away! My ankles look like I have the measles and it is still keeping me awake at night. Grrrrr!

The bathroom renovation has begun. Pictures soon.

It's a beautiful day for a hurricane

It really is a beautiful day -- and feels just wonderful outside. Check out the WeatherPixie. She's all clear skies and sunshine.

Even so, we’re sort of preparing for Hanna, which is still a tropical storm at this point. Duncan is checking on water and food supplies and calling me about every 3 hours to tell me how long the line is for gas at Costco and other such vital information. I’m more of the mind we’re going to have a rainy day. I just spoke with a neighbor and our plan, if we lose power, is to go to a movie. . . Our family disaster plan sort of breaks down when we think about getting Eloise in a box and in the car.

Picture the Keystone Cops trying to shoo a pissed-off cat into a crate – that’d be us. Picture every place in your house just out of reach -- that’d be Eloise.

Here is Eloise in her preferred comfort zone, looking a bit hung-over but she's really just relaxed and drowsy -- we woke her up to take her picture.

Duncan's Birthday

Yesterday was Duncan's birthday so we gave him his due. Here he is with all his presents and cards. And evil brownies in lieu of a cake. We went down to Folly Beach for dinner. The plan was to eat too much and go for a long walk on the beach, but Hurricane Faye blew rain in steadily all day so it was too stormy for much beach walking. We drove through Folly though, and it looked nice there -- fewer people since school has started, things sort of buttoned down. We saw some surfers heading for the ocean, but they seemed to be about the only ones.



Here is Duncan's favorite card that came from his Aunt Mary. On the inside it says:

Another year closer to driving a gigantic car real slow with your little gray head peering over the dashboard!



He's not sure why she sent it to him though ;-)

A slow morning

It is a blustery day, as Pooh would say. The wind is a bit Howl-y. I'm probably not entirely on my game this morning, but I assume things will even out -- with the weather and with me.

Turns out, the warp for the rag rug I'm well into is way too short. It has turned out to be an exercise in sloppiness -- I shouldacoulda done a sample to actually measure the percentage of uptake for these thick cloth strips. I shouldacoulda made the warp 2 yards longer "just to be safe". I'm not even sure that would have been enough. I can only say, it has been a really long time since I've done a rug with torn rag strips like this -- and I've probably never tried to do such a defined pattern. I was trying to do some multicolored stripes of varying widths and at the midpoint, repeat the pattern backwards to the end of the rug -- so that if you folded the rug in half, the two sides would match. It just appealed to my sense of order.

Most recently, and I mean when I lived on Hill St., I did the shaggy rag rug and a rug out of loops from old t-shirts. Way back when I lived on Arcaro Drive, (to remember, I have to picture myself weaving in these different places) I made several rugs with loops from panty hose -- sounds weird, but they came out in nice varying shades of brown and were very strong. So, I don't know when I last did a rug like this with strips of fabric woven in.

I do like the warp on this one. Since I can't do my nice orderly half and half repeat, I have decided to punt and hope the stripes turn out to appear casually randomized. The good news is I have less than 12" left to weave. I will take it off the loom and take it to Black Mountain to tie fringe, wash it and let it dry in the sun on the deck at Greenpeace. Here's a picture of the rug on the loom a day or two ago.

Just to start

Just wanted to try this out to keep the world of communication technology from getting too far ahead of me.
Since I'm not working too much right now, I have time to learn something new. I'll try to record some of my weaving and home improvement projects. Will try to keep editorializing and man-bashing to a minimum. We'll see.